Two years ago, Neiman Marcus and two other retailers settled a Federal Trade Commission complaint that they had sold “faux fur” products on their websites that contained actual animal fur. As part of that agreement, the upscale department store was permanently enjoined from “falsely or deceptively advertising any fur product by misrepresenting or failing to disclose that the fur in any fur product is faux or fake.” However, a new petition filed with the FTC alleges the Neiman Marcus has continued to sell products that appear to violate this agreement. [More]

Many shoppers shy away from products that contain animal fur, whether because of their personal beliefs where animals come into play, or because mink coats are known to be rather expensive. But what if the fur came from an animal that no one else really wanted, one that’s been left by the roadside as roadkill?

The Humane Society once again has department store chain Kohl’s in its sights for allegedly advertising a product online that contains real raccoon dog fur and passing it off as “faux,” saying the company is in violation of FTC’s Fur Products Labeling Act and has deceived consumers. [More]

There are a lot of people out there who like the look and feel of fur, but have a problem with the idea of actually wearing it. That’s why there is faux fur. But what’s the point of going faux when some retailers don’t divulge that a fake fur product might indeed be the real deal? [More]

Chris sent his HP Elitebook in for repair, only to learn that he had done something to void the warranty, and it wouldn’t be repaired. What was his heinous offense against technology? He owns a cat, and there’s fur inside the computer, causing HP to declare his computer a “biological hazard” and send it back un-repaired. He sent along photos that HP took of his disassembled computer and used to make the case that his computer wasn’t repairable.

An Idaho store that sells fur coats and fireworks was set on fire Monday, and a group of animal rights activist say they started the blaze that caused $100,000 in damage. The admitted arsonists say they will strike again if the business resumes operation.

The Humane Society has just released the results from another round of tests on fur-trimmed products from national U.S. retailers, and in four cases they found that the advertised “raccoon” fur was actually “raccoon dog,” a canine indigenous to Asia. This is one case where the FTC is squarely to blame for creating the problem in the first place, because in 1951 they decided that trade trumps scientific classification and declared “that this animal should be referred to as ‘Asiatic raccoon’ in advertising and labeling.”

Six big retailers are selling jackets advertised as having “faux” fur, but the fur is actually from real animals. It’s not only mean, it’s a violation of the federal Fur Products Labeling Act. An investigation by the Humane Society of The United States * found jackets sold at Saks, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Dillards, Yoox and Bloomingdales containing the faux “faux” fur. Much of the world’s fur is processed in China, a place where they skin animals alive for their fur.

The Humane Society of the United States announced the results of an investigation into fur trim earlier this year, and they were startling. Major designers were using fur from a canine species called “raccoon dog”, but labeling the fur as “faux.”

We posted recently about the Humane Society’s investigation into the widespread use of canine fur from China in clothes sold in the US. One coat in particular was made by Diddy’s line “Sean Jean” and was initially labeled “faux.” Tests prove the coat uses dog fur.

“First these jackets were falsely advertised as faux fur, and then it turned out that the fur came from a type of dog,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. “This is an industry-wide problem, and our investigation demonstrates that retailers and designers aren’t paying close enough attention to composition of the fur trim they are selling. It’s especially problematic when the fur is sourced from China where domestic dogs and cats and raccoon dogs are killed in gruesome ways, even skinned alive. The safest course of action is for Sean Combs and other designers and retailers to stop using fur trim. That single act would solve the problems we have uncovered.”